Lopez Resigns Amid Pressure

By

Erica Orden

Updated May 17, 2013 9:27 p.m. ET

New York state Assemblyman Vito Lopez, who was one of the chamber's most powerful members until he was ensnared in an ethics investigation that found he sexually harassed staff members, said Friday he plans to resign at the end of the legislative session in June.

Mr. Lopez, who denies harassing his underlings, said he was stepping down in order to run for City Council in November.

"I have maintained my innocence throughout this matter and I believe no criminal investigation should ever have been conducted," the Brooklyn Democrat said in a statement.

ENLARGE

Vito Lopez
Associated Press

"I have made no secret that I intend to run for New York City Council in November, which requires me to resign my current term," he continued. "Nevertheless, because the citizens of my district voted me back into office last November by an overwhelming majority, I feel obligated to serve out this session of the Assembly."

The final day of the session is June 20. But calls mounted throughout the day for Mr. Lopez's immediate expulsion from the state Legislature.

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His announcement came after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, said late Thursday he planned to introduce a resolution that could trigger expulsion. The resolution—asking the Assembly ethics committee to "recommend, if warranted, additional sanctions, including expulsion" and to do so "expeditiously"—was introduced Friday.

"Assemblymember Lopez should no longer be in public office. We will move forward with our resolution on Monday," a spokesman for Mr. Silver said.

Should the Assembly pass the resolution Monday and send it to the chamber's ethics committee, the committee's recommended sanctions would then come back to the Assembly for a full vote.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo also demanded Mr. Lopez's hastened departure. "Vito Lopez should not spend another day in office, let alone a whole month," he said in a statement after Mr. Lopez's announcement. "He should resign effective immediately and if he does not, he must be expelled."

"I think this Assembly should make a clear, powerful statement that we don't tolerate that behavior, period," Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a radio interview Friday.

"I think they have an opportunity to say to the people of this state, 'Look, we can't stop people from doing bad and venal and stupid things, disgusting things, but when confronted with the knowledge, we can act firmly and effectively,'" he said. "And we will not tolerate that in our house.'"

The state ethics commission found in a report released earlier this week that Mr. Lopez used his office "to reward certain female employees for submitting to his inappropriate and offensive behavior, and to bully those same employees who did not acquiesce to his demands for companionship and entertainment."

A separate investigation conducted by Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan found Mr. Lopez's actions didn't rise to the level of criminality.

The episode also engulfed Mr. Silver and Assembly staffers, who were found by the commission to have concealed the sexual-harassment allegations against the lawmaker in a bid to avoid negative publicity.

On Friday, Assembly Democrats, sounding a note of frustration, decried the idea that the situation might be prolonged by Mr. Lopez's refusal to resign from office until the end of the legislative session.

"This has degenerated into a circus sideshow, and Lopez should resign immediately to allow people to heal and the Legislature to get back to the business of governing," Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat, said in a statement.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and others objected to the notion Mr. Lopez might someday join that body. "Serial harassers have no place in public service," said a message on Ms. Quinn's Twitter feed.

Mr. Lopez's opponent in the City Council race, Antonio Reynoso, called for the lawmaker to exit the race.

"He must drop his campaign immediately, and begin looking for ways to right the wrongs he has inflicted on the people of this city," Mr. Reynoso said.

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